Romantic K-Dramas for K-Junkies Like You and Us
Have you just found out about Korean dramas or are you currently on a binging spree? Or have you just tumbled in the world of romantic k-dramas?
As time progresses, it is unquestionable that the craze for k-dramas continues to increase. And with this increase, we can expect to have viewers from different backgrounds. At first, the main target for these dramas were Koreans and other Asians. Hence, the name k-dramas short for Korean dramas.
However, k-dramas have made their way into the hearts of many Europeans and Americans. And the language barrier is no longer an obstacle because of subtitles. Furthermore, there is an endless amount of dramas with different plots and genres just waiting to be seen.
You can find contemporary, historical, detective, highschool, action, medical, crime, and even time travel dramas. These dramas usually have 15 to 20 episodes ranging for an hour each. Now, the question to answer is: why do most people like k-dramas? And the most obvious answer comes down to the romantic, chocolate-box plots that keep us the edge and wanting more.
Romantic Korean Drama
In almost any k-drama, you will always some sort of romance even though it is vague. But in most cases, the drama will center around it. Romantic k-dramas have earned a special place in our hearts. We enjoy the love triangles, the unrequited love, the unpredictable outcomes, and the suspenseful ending. K-dramas also serve escapism from reality in most cases.
To clarify, viewers watch these dramas to destress and move their attention away from school, work, family, and problems. They are put their focus on the characters and what they are going through.
It connects to our emotions.
In other cases, romantic k-dramas serve that love and emotional appeal that viewers crave for. And sometimes, it gives us that illusion that we might just have the same unrealistic love journey the characters goes through.
Nonetheless, people love romantic k-dramas because of the way it is structure and how it appeals to your emotions.
Romantic Recommendations
If you are looking for some romantic suggestions, here are some that you can binge on:
Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)
In short, this drama stars Lee Jong-Suk (as Cha Eun-ho) the youngest chief editor in a book publishing company and Lee Na-young (as Kang Dan-Yi) as a former popular copywriter.
Although Dan-Yi has an impressive resume and educational background, she struggles to find a new job since she has been out of the business for years. With no other choice, Dan-Yi lies about her background and lands a job in the same publishing company as her long time friend Eun-Ho, who has secretly been having a crush on Dan-Yi since when they were kids.
Her Private Life (2019)
This romantic drama is for all those K-pop fanatics that go out of their way for their baizes. The main character, Sung Deok-Mi played by Park Min-Young, is a huge fan of a K-pop group and even runs a fan website. Her job as a curator at an art gallery and her fandom for this K-pop group is what drives her in life.
Now, Ryan, played by Kim Jae-Wook, is an indifferent character who is uninterested in other people.
But this all changes when he meets Deok-Mi and takes an interest in her.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Vr4TblSfI[/embedyt]
I Am Not a Robot (2018)
Comedy is a key factor in most successful romantic k-dramas, and this one is one of them. Min-Kyu (Yoo Seung-Ho) is a handsome, smart, and rich person who lives alone because of his allergy to people. Now, Ji-A (Chae Soo-Bin) is a personal shopper and an aspiring entrepreneur who pretends to be a humanoid in Min-Kyu’s home until her ex, Baek-Gyun (Uhm Ki-Joon), fixes the actual humanoid. It should be noted, Min-Kyu shows no allergic reaction to Ji-A.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D36QRCy9JCo[/embedyt]
Strong Girl Bong Soon (2017)
Looking for romance, comedy, and a love triangle?
Born with superhuman strength, Bong-Soon (Park Bo-Young) aspires to create a video game of her own with herself as the main character. She is the person somewhat struggles with being happy about her powers.
Later on, Min-Hyuk (Park Hyung-Sik), the CEO of a gaming company and search for a bodyguard, find Bong-Soon fighting a gang and hires her for her strength. In exchange, she is offered a position in the planning department in this gaming company.
As he starts learned more about Bong-Soon, Min-Hyuk feels become more obvious.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysJzkl-SU1Q[/embedyt]
Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2016)
Do you love fantasy? This will be the one for you.
Well-known actor, Gong Yoo plays a resilient general name Kim Shin who becomes a Goblin (Dokkeabi) after being killed by a young jealous King played by Kim Min-Jae. To summarize, the Goblin awaits 900 years to find a human bride to end the curse of his immortal life. He finds his bride after saving her mother when she is pregnant with her.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S94ukM8C17A[/embedyt]
Descendants of the Sun (2016)
This romantic k-drama was the talk of the year. After the show aired, it increased tourism in Korea.
Captain of the special forces Shi-Jin (Song Joong-Ki) meets Dr. Mo-Yeon (Song- Hye-Kyo) after entering the emergency room with a thief he injured. He falls in love with him immediately. On their first date, both professionals realized that being together will be complicated because of their time-consuming jobs.
After meeting again in Uruk, they try to rekindle the spark but failed once again after learning their views in life. As a soldier, one kills to protect, and as a doctor, all lives should be saved. But, does this eliminate any chances of them being together?
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fyrt0qByOQ[/embedyt]
Oh My Ghostess (2015)
Timid chef assistant Na Bong-Sun (Park Bo-Young) works for star chef Kang Sun-Woo (Cho Jung-Seok) who is handsome, confident, and great with the ladies. With this in mind, Bong-Sun is very fond of him.
By the way, Bong-Sun can see ghosts and this is due to her grandmother being a shaman. Despite having this ability, Bong-Sun tries to ignore all ghosts to avoid interacting. That is until she meets Shin Soon-Ae (Kim Seul-Gi). After Soon-Ae asks for Bong-Sun’s help, Soon-Ae possesses her body to help out her family and their restaurant. She does this while playing as Bong-Sun.
Despite the sudden change, no one questions Bong-Sun’s personality switch. Interestingly enough, Sun-Woo becomes interested in Bong-Sun after acting more vocal. Now, the question is: is Sun-Woo interested in Bong-Sun or Soon Ae?
Kill Me Heal Me (2015)
This love story is between Oh Ri-Jin (Hwang Jeong-Eum), a first-year psychiatrist, and her patient, Cha Do-Hyun (Ji-Sung). Do-Hyun is from a very wealthy family and suffers from multiple personality disorders because of childhood trauma. To regain order to his life, his family hire a psychiatrist in secret.
Healer (2014)
The k-drama, Healer, is full of action, mystery, and romance.
A group of three try to uncover the truth from a 1992 case. This involves Seo Jung-Hoo (Ji Chang-Wook) as the skilled fighter, Chae Young-Shin (Park Min-Young) as the reporter, and Kim Moon-Ho (Yoo Ji-Tae) as a famous journalist. In their journey of discovery, Jung-Hoo and Young-Shin become fond of each other.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcOhZLULyFA[/embedyt]
My Love from the Star (2013)
Romantic k-dramas are usually out of this world with their concepts but this is what keeps them spontaneous and entertaining. This one is one of them.
During the Joseon Dynasty, an alien by the name of Do Min-Joon (Kim Soo-Hyun) lands on Earth. Unfortunately for him, he ends up being stuck here for 400 years. Min-Joon adapts to the human way of living. He also renews his identity every ten years.
On the other hand, we have Cheon Song-Yi (Gianna Jun) a famous actress in the current time, and she is also Min-Joon’s current neighbor. Little does Song-Yi knows that they have both met before in a previous lifetime.
Min-Joon begins to have feelings towards Song-Yi which he has not left towards anyone before. Now the catch is, Min-Joon has a few months left until he can leave earth. Will he miss that for his crush?
K-Drama Sites to watch Romantic K-dramas
Being new to the k-drama world, you might be in search of websites where you can spend your time relaxing on.
These are some websites:
- Netflix; and yes, you will need a subscription.
- Hulu; yes k-drama is expanding to other streaming providers.
- Viki; believe it or not, it is free, you just need to withstand commercial breaks.
- Asian Crush; again, free with some commercials.
- On-Demand Korea; they have some free options, but you need a membership for the premium ones.
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If you want to learn more on Korean dramas, check out the video below!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8-v7eKUcNs[/embedyt]
